Dreamers goes NC-17

In a bold publicity move, Fox Searchlight has opted to release Bernardo Bertolucci's film THE DREAMERS with an NC-17 rating. This will be the first time in over six years that an MPAA signatory company has released a film with an NC-17 rating - the last being the MGM holocaust film BENT. The move comes after Searchlight executives asked Bertolucci to make significant edits to his film after screening the European version, heavy on sexual content. Somewhere along the line however, Searchlight decided an R-rating would compromise the integrity of the film and opted to release the film as-is with the NC-17 rating attached. Bertolucci also saw ratings drama with LAST TANGO IN PARIS, which earned an X-rating but still went on to earn Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Actor, Marlon Brando. The film follows an American student who shacks up with a young brother and sister in 1968 Paris. Considering the rating and the concerns about the film's sexual content, take a guess at what happens from here. I believe the French call it...menage a trois? THE DREAMERS will premiere in the US at the Sundance Film Festival and will open in New York and Los Angeles on February 6th. The film stars Michael Pitt (MURDER BY NUMBERS) and Eva Green, soon to co-star with Orlando Bloom in KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.